4.26.2013

My reaction to this ad was a lump in my throat and tears as soon as I began to hear these women describe themselves. It caused me such sadness as I felt like I heard my own inner voice echoing the same things in my head. This video stuck with me all day.

We are under such pressure to be perfect, to emulate what we see on tv and magazines. We have this crazy, unrealistic expectation we are all trying to strive for with our exercising, dieting, make up, hair products...

4.22.2013

I love my aviator sunglasses, and I found the perfect pair of Vera Wang's for my small head at Khol's. After I got them I was in love, I looked at them in the rear view mirror, I checked them out in car windows as I passed by.

Suddenly, one day I looked down and my sunglasses fell right off my face! What the heck??

It was the end of the season, so I bought another pair...about 2 months later the same thing happened. One day, perfect, the next day they won't stay up. Is my head fluctuating in size on a day to day basis?

Well, I was determined to figure this out before buying another pair.

After some fiddling around with the nose pieces, the screws, and the bows of the glasses, I realized that they were stretching ever-so-slightly right between the hinge and the lens. I think it might have something to do with propping them on my head, taking them off with one hand while pulling to the side, and hanging them from the collar of my shirt.

Here is the easy fix that will save your next pair of aviators! Whoopee!

Place your glasses upside down on a table and hold them steady near the lens.

Using needle nosed pliers, bend the part between the hinge and the lens just a teeny bit toward the lens (if you want to protect the metal from scratching, place a thin piece of fabric between the glasses and the pliers).

Don't get crazy, just move tiny tiny bits on both sides while trying them on periodically until they fit perfectly again.

4.18.2013

My house is messy, my family ate Kraft Mac & Cheese from a box for dinner last night, there is an email from my oldest son's Spanish teacher explaining that he isn't applying himself...

Yeah.

So, let's focus on one thing at a time. I need to get this house cleaned up and I think a crock pot dinner will be best to get me started (meatball subs?). But what to do about the Spanish grade?? His grade has been slipping since the marking period started 2 weeks ago and I just checked to find his average is now a 53%! He has already lost his phone and computer for the last 2 weeks - what else?

What do you do or take from your kids to show you really mean business? I need help from my wise readers because I'm at my wits end.

4.15.2013

The Soul Sisters went shopping last month and I took some photos of some things that caught my eye so you could tag along. We stopped at IKEA to get our meatball on, then headed over to Hobby Lobby (I thought it was Home Goods at first and was mixed up)

This funky patchwork chair and sofa set was so bright and quirky! I would love to have something like this in my studio...but then I might not get anything done. Upon closer inspection, this is actually one fabric printed with several patterns to create the illusion of patchwork! Clever.

I liked the aged multi-colored drawers on these dressers. Looks like the kind of thing I might find in my friend Janet's shop, only her's would be even more fantastic with all the chalk paint colors she carries! Good for inspiration.

I was fascinated by these baskets made from Chinese newspapers. I would like to attempt to learn how to do this during the summer. This is recycling at it's finest. I could make a basket from newspapers to collect my recycled newspapers!

Treat Girl found some lovely fabrics, I'm noticing my photos are getting worse the further into the store and away from natural light we get.

I won't embarrass her by showing you the Bambi fabric she was swooning over...well maybe just a small picture...

Check out this wire lamp shade form strung with ribbon and glass discs??? Doable!

Treat Girl also found these cool metal numbers that she was going to use to make artwork with her wedding date on it. Hey, Treat Girl, did you ever show me a picture of the finished project?

There were so many colorful knobs and pulls you could dress up any old piece of furniture.

I loved these ready to hang, screen printed, metal alphabet tiles but couldn't think of just the right word to spell. My home is a little over run with "typography" art right now.

4.12.2013

Ironically, I had a sister-in-law and a friend in the same ICU unit of the same hospital last week. Each family handled things differently in respect to the kids.

In one family, the kids were afraid to visit and family was trying to encourage them to see their mother, and in the other case the kids were eager to visit and family was trying to discourage them from visiting.

I have never been in the hospital except to have my 3 boys, but I was trying to imagine how I would feel about my kids visiting or not visiting.

It's Feedback Friday...

If you were hospitalized would you want your kids to visit or do you think it would be more upsetting?

4.11.2013

I'm always at a loss when it comes to make ahead meals for someone who has just come home from the hospital. I want things that reheat well and something that isn't lasagna (since that is what most people bring).

My sister in law was discharged from the hospital this week and I needed to come up with some meals for her family so I thought I'd share.

Sausage Bowtie Casserole is made from bow tie pasta, Bob Evans sausage, spinach and vodka sauce. Thank you to my cashier at Walmart who gave me this recipe! Include a loaf of fresh bread and you have a meal.

Chicken Meatball Soup, for something a little gentle on the stomach. It was simple, using carrots, celery, chicken broth, a rotisserie chicken, tiny meatballs meant for wedding soup (I can find these premade at a local grocery store), and Acini de Pepe (those tiny pasta balls) but you could also use Orzo pasta.

I also made a Meatloaf (isn't that an unfortunate name for a food??) using my standby Joy of Cooking recipe, but any recipe will do. Be sure to include mashed potatoes and a veggie!

4.08.2013

First, can I say how satisfying to fix something without having to ask The Big Guy for help? Can I get an Amen?

I have a Whirlpool Duet washer and dryer combo, and a few months ago I told you How To Fix Your Washing Machine for overly long wash cycles and the "Suds" error message.

Well, now it's time to tune up the dryer.

I've noticed that over the past few months it has been taking longer and longer for my loads to dry. Pretty soon I was drying every load on "heavy duty" and sometimes it was still a little damp at the end. So frustrating!

I'm good about emptying the lint filter, but I wondered if some lint was escaping into the area around the filter? Let me walk you through it...

First and most importantly - either unplug your machine or turn off the breaker. Try to turn it on afterward to be sure no electricity is getting to your dryer. I'll wait...

Now, you can see my lint filter is in the front and held in place by screws in the front of the dryer:

And screws inside the dryer on the back of the filter (view from inside looking out):

After you remove all the screws, the pocket that holds the lint filter in place will come loose from the dryer. It will be attached by wires so just hinge it open.

Now you can see doooowwwnnn into a dark, scary hole that is full of scary stuff like random lint and paper clips...although as you reach your hand into this hole your imagination will trick you into thinking it is full of snakes and mice and spiders.

You will want to rig up all sorts of contraptions to reach into this hole for you like bottle brushes and kitchen tongs wrapped in towels and yard sticks but really your hands work best.

Just take a deep breath and reach in there and pull out all the lint clogging up the bottom of this void and up into the pipe that runs under and out of the dryer. I found it easier if I squeezed my eyes shut while squealing. You will get a shiver and feel like you have cooties when you are finished.

Here is the collection of crap I pulled out of the bottom of my lint collection area. See? No spiders or rats or snakes!

Scoop up all the lint and run the vacuum hose around inside the hole to clean up all the dust.

When you load your dryer the next time, you will have dry clothes lickety split! (remember to return the power to your machine or you will panic and think you broke it...um, not that I did that or anything...)

4.05.2013

Sorry I have been MIA this week, with 3 family members in the hospital my mind has been elsewhere. But, I'm back!

I was reading an online chat page about a potential for a law to pass that will require random drug testing of welfare recipients. I started Googling and sure enough, I found an article in USA Today that explained that 7 states already have this requirement.

Some opposed to the plan argue that it is a waste of money and that it deepens the stigma of receiving public assistance.

It's Feedback Friday...

What do you think of the proposal to requiring welfare recipients to submit to random drug testing?

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About Me

I'm a mom to three boys (ages 8-12), who's life revolves around laundry, football practice, blogging and art. Much of my daily interaction with said boys involves snacking, burping, discussions about "balls" or "peters", farting, or You Tube.
I have a small business and a group of friends (both real and bloggy) who provide me with the necessary estrogen to survive my testosterone-filled days. Got any estrogen to spare? Come on in!

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